Man's Plight
by St. Row-a-Check
Summary: Jet wood, same essence, Whipping arms cannot capture. Wind whispers, sap tears. The story of Nimbus 2000 and the Whomping Willow, set during POA. Oneshot.


_**Summary:**_

_Jet wood, same essence,  
Whipping arms cannot capture.  
Wind whispers, sap tears._

_The story of Nimbus 2000 and the Whomping Willow._

**Man's Plight**

Wind. Rain. Love.

I am carried by a force stronger than me… carried away like a log in the river.

She is calling for me. She is waiting for me.

After a year of waiting, we will finally be together, if only for a moment. I will be the first to ever caress her, to touch her willingly.

I know of some who were fooled be her calmness, her steady beauty, dignified coldness. None of them lived long enough to regret it. She has no pity for fools. She allows no mistakes.

No, she would never tolerate a loser. Neither would my past self; the one I was before I saw her for the first time… Really saw her, and heard her, and felt the rhythm of her merciless fingers upon that bright-blue cage we had flown in. Before that, I had lived only for victory.

Wind. Rain. Love.

Now I willingly sacrifice everything, my profession, my joy, my life. For her. Such are the ways of destiny.

I had never truly lived until I witnessed her wild attack. Senseless, passionate madness – movement for the sake of movement. No prizes, no rules, no goal. It was something I had never dreamt of – except maybe back in the Days of Wilderness, before I was given a shape and a name and a purpose. She has all of these, yet nobody gave them to her… no. They are a part of her.

Wind. Rain. Love.

There are none like her. She is unique. Custom-made, maybe, though Time and Nature were the only makers. Whereas I… hundreds share my name. Thousands have similar shape and material. Millions exist for the same purpose I do – to serve our creaters. Many do so better than I do. There is nothing at all to separate me from others. Except for her.

Wind. Rain. Love.

What will I miss from this world?

There is him, of course, my partner. Master. Owner. Friend. He and I shared many victories, and I am sorry our final flight must end in defeat. But he was called to the ground, just as I am driven forward, rushing ahead to my destiny.

Wind. Rain. Love.

He will mourn for me, I know. I regret it, but it is how things go. He will find others, better than me, and more loyal prehaps. I must do this now, it is the only chance I have. If I turn back, it would mark me a loser, and she would never accept me even if I did manage to gain both the freedom and the resolve.

I shall do it now.

Wind. Rain. Love.

She is calling for me. She is waiting for me. Tall and unmoving in the horrible howling of wind around her. Like a sculpture, a tall, lifeless thing made only for its own purpose… Yet I know, she yearns to touch me. She wants me to come to her. Her prey is coming near, and she cannot move to reach it, not unless it reaches her first.

Will she know why I am doing this? What I want to achieve? Will she understand? I doubt she has ever faced love. No, it is new to her, I'm sure of it. My only hope is that she will be able to tell the difference between my sacrifice and those who are weak enough to be carried by forces in spite of their will.

Though I, too, am carried by a force.

Wind. Rain. Love.

I am almost with her now. Hazy memories rush through me, good and bad equally. The Days of Wilderness, dark and chaotic. Rain, snow, animals. Birds, a small nest placed on my young branches. The endless music of the river, always the same and always different. People coming, men with wands. Wands that once also lived in the Wilderness. A sharp pain, and falling apart… I do not know what happened to the rest of my body… It is strange, how I never thought about it.

Wind. Rain. Love.

The shop. People coming, people going. Children staring, touching me with awe. The journey to school, my first meeting with my partner. Practice. Games. The Forest. Laughter and tears, joy and sorrow – all his, never mine.

All of my life before her. Our first meeting, through the dead wood of a large box. Whispers in the darkness, stories of her deadly past. Love, yearning. Lack of courage and anger because of it.

Thoughts. Decisions. Vows.

Wind. Rain. Love.

She is here. I am here. For a fraction of a second, I connect with her – it is like the joy of reaching the Snitch, multiplied by eternity… Her skin is smooth. Grey and green, like the river I grew up by…

_SLAP!_

She hits me with all her might, pushing me away, out of her reach…

I am safe. My life is mine again. She knows. She understands.

I come back to her, slowly. She cannot act against her instincts, and I do not want her to.

Whips. Pain. Love.

At last, two stronger, thicker branches grab me. The strikes cease. All is still. I cannot sense the wind any more. We are together, she and I, in a grand, firm embrace.

Wind. Rain. Love.

A small, distant snap. Everything goes limp. I fall, slowly, from her tight grasp to the arms of Death.

I will call for her. I will wait for her.

We shall be together once more.

**Fin.**

**_Disclaimer: _**_All credit and admiration goes to JK Rowling, for givng the characers life, apart from their name, shape and purpose._

_**A/N. **Lots of thanks to **Mr Flying Fingers** for the summary, **J** **Forias **for the title and **Darker Rage **for betaing._

_Reviews are very much appreciated._


End file.
